The following is a glossary

Glossary

A glossary, also known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms...

 of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. This is not intended to be a formal dictionary; precise usage details and multiple closely related senses are omitted here in favor of concise treatment of the basics.

A few games have enough of their own specific terminology to warrant their own glossaries:

• For Bridge
  Bridge
  A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
  
  , the Glossary of contract bridge terms which covers Contract bridge
  Contract bridge
  Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
  
  , Duplicate bridge
  Duplicate bridge
  Duplicate bridge is the most widely used variation of contract bridge in club and tournament play. It is called duplicate because the same bridge deal is played at each table and scoring is based on relative performance...
  
  , and Auction bridge
  Auction bridge
  The card game auction bridge, the third step in the evolution of the general game of bridge, was developed from straight bridge in 1904. The precursor to contract bridge, its predecessors were whist and bridge whist....
  
  ; some of the terms are also used in Whist
  Whist
  Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was played widely in the 18th and 19th centuries. It derives from the 16th century game of Trump or Ruff, via Ruff and Honours...
  
  , Bid whist
  Bid whist
  Bid whist is a partnership trick-taking variant of the classic card game whist. As indicated by the name, bid whist adds a bidding element to the game that is not present in classic whist. It is generally accepted that the game of bridge came from the game of whist. Derin Dickerson is suggested to...
  
  , and other trick-taking game
  Trick-taking game
  A trick-taking game is a card game or tile-based game in which play centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called tricks. The object of such games then may be closely tied to the number of tricks taken, as in plain-trick games such as Whist, Contract Bridge, Napoleon, Rowboat, and...
  
  s.
• For Patience
  Patience (game)
  Patience is a genre of tabletop games, consisting of card games that can be played by a single player. Patience games can also be played in a multiplayer fashion....
  
  , the Glossary of solitaire
• For Poker
  Poker
  Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
  
  , the Glossary of poker terms
  Glossary of poker terms
  The following is a glossary of poker terms used in the card game of poker. It supplements the Glossary of card terms. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon poker slang terms...
  
  

Terms in this glossary (unlike those above) should apply to a wide range of card games.

A

ace

See rank, below

age

No relation to the player's chronological ages. See eldest and youngest for details.

C

court

A court card is a King, Queen, or Jack (and a Knight, if a Tarot deck is being used)

D

deal

1. Verb: To distribute cards to players in accordance with the rules of the game being played. In many games, this involves taking all cards, shuffling them, and redistributing them, but in other games (such as Patience games) it simply involves turning over the Waste to act as a new Stock.
2. Noun: The play from the time the cards are dealt until they are redealt. Also referred to as a hand

dealer

The person whose turn and responsibility it is to deal the cards (even though this player may delegate the actual dealing to another). Give Alice the cards, she's the dealer.

deck

May refer either to the pack or the stock

deuce

Another name for the rank 2 cards (see rank, below)

downcard

A card that is dealt face down.

E

eldest

The first player to play in the round. In English-speaking countries, this is usually the player to the left of the dealer

H

hand

1. The cards held by one player
2. The player holding the cards, as in "Third hand bid 1."
3. Synonymous with the noun usage of deal

I

in turn

A player, or an action, is said to be in turn if that player is expected to act next under the rules. Jerry said "check" while he was in turn, so he's not allowed to raise.

J

joker

one or two Joker cards, added to a 52-card deck. Jokers often act as wild cards, able to substitute for any other card (or even non-existant ones – 4 aces and a Joker could be said to be five of a kind). Often two jokers are used, often distinguishable as the Red Joker and the Black Joker.

N

numeral

A card for which the rank is a number (Ace usually counts as 1 in this case)

P

pack

A complete set of cards. A double deck may be used (ie. 104/108 instead of 52/54)

penalty

A score awarded for common violations of the rules of the game. It can be awarded either negatively to the violating player/partnership, or positively to their opponent(s)

pile

A set of cards placed on a surface so that they partially or completely overlap

pip

1. See numeral, above
2. A suit symbol on a card.

play

1. Verb: Move a card to a place on the table (either from the players hand, or from elsewhere on the table).
2. Noun: The stage of the game in which player(s) play cards

R

rank

the ranks on a deck of Anglo-French cards are Ace, 2-10, Jack, Queen, King. They are usually indicated in the top left corner of the card.

redeal

To deal again

round

The events between the eldest player's action, and the youngest player's action of the same type (ie. bid, play), inclusive.

S

seat

Position relative to the dealer: for example, in bridge, the dealer's left-hand opponent is said to be in second seat.

sequence

Two or more cards adjacent in rank. The adjectives ascending and descending may be applied (ie. "building in ascending sequence" means "laying cards out so that each has the next highest rank to the previous one"). A sequence need not all be of the same suit.

spot card

See numeral

stack

Cards are placed directly on top of each other, disallowing the player to see any card other than the top. In most cases, these cards are and should be kept hidden. Viewing these cards during a deal is often considered illegal, so they should be dealt face down.

stock

A pile of cards, face down, which are left over after setting up the rest of the game (ie. dealing hands, setting up other layout areas).

suit

See Suit

Suit

-Garments:*Suit , a set of garments with matching pieces, including at least a coat and trousers**Formal wear, the general terms for clothing suitable for formal social events*Boilersuit, or coverall, a loose-fitting one-piece garment...

. On an Anglo-French deck, this term refers to one of Spades , Hearts , Diamonds , and Clubs .

T

trick

See Trick-taking game

Trick-taking game

A trick-taking game is a card game or tile-based game in which play centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called tricks. The object of such games then may be closely tied to the number of tricks taken, as in plain-trick games such as Whist, Contract Bridge, Napoleon, Rowboat, and...

. A set of cards played by each player in turn, during the play of a hand.

trump

1. (Noun) A card in the trump suit whose trick-taking power is greater than any plain suit card.
2. (Noun) A card in the special suit of trumps found in tarot decks such as the Tarot Nouveau
   Tarot Nouveau
   The Tarot Nouveau, French Tarot Nouveau or Bourgeois Tarot deck is a general style of tarot playing card deck. The Tarot Nouveau differs from other styles of tarot deck, such as the Tarot of Marseilles and Rider-Waite decks, in that the Tarot Nouveau is designed solely for playing the various tarot...
   
   
3. (Verb) To play a trump after a plain suit has been led; see Ruff.

Y

youngest

The last player to play before the eldest player's second turn